How to Transform Your Financial Journey: Lessons from Your Favorite Latine Siblings

#80: Can money really solve your life's toughest problems? Join us, Israel and Sunem Tovar, as we challenge this notion by sharing our own experiences navigating financial success and personal hardships.

Our story isn't just about wealth but about resilience and strategic planning. We discuss the importance of managing expectations and understanding that financial success doesn't erase personal challenges. From moving between Mexico and the U.S. to grappling with "first-gen tax" and gendered responsibilities, we share how hard work, luck, and education played pivotal roles in our journey. Listen to us recount how we transitioned from aspiring careers to building a business, accumulating debt, and eventually achieving financial literacy and independence.

This episode is a masterclass in financial freedom through personal growth. We highlight the importance of having a clear "why" for your financial goals, creating realistic spending plans, and aligning your expenses with your values. Learn the benefits of paying off high-interest debt and why starting to invest early is crucial, regardless of your financial situation. Finally, we encourage you to invest in yourself and invite you to use our free platform for inspiration.

Connect with us!

• Instagram
• Website 

Other Episodes You Will Enjoy

• Welcome to the Money Noticias Podcast
• How to Unlock Your Freedom by Pursuing Financial Independence
• How Israel Reached a 6-Figure Net Worth at Age 26 and as a First-Gen Teacher of Color
• How Sunem Built a $200,000+ Net Worth and Negotiated for a Remote Job as a First-Gen Latina

Want to begin getting your money right? Download our free money guide and training today! 

• 6 Strategies to Take Control of Your Debt Guide

Interested in receiving 1:1, tailored support to help you reach your financial goals and gain financial security? 

• Apply to Money Coaching

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

even though we do use money as a tool to live our best life, money will not make our challenges go away. If you have a hard time with boundaries with yourself, with others, even if you become work optional, you have $2 million and you're invested in your bank account or an investment account, it's not gonna make your anxiety go away. It's not going to make your intrusive thoughts go away. It's not gonna improve your unhealthy relationships. It's the tool to help you improve your life because it gives you access to resources and time and space to address other challenges in life and it also hopefully disappears, like professional challenges, right, but it's not going to make your life perfect. What's?

Speaker 2: 0:35

up y'all. Welcome to the Money Noticias Podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:40

If you're tired of this shit and want to learn how to use money to live your life on your own terms, you're at the right place.

Speaker 2: 0:48

We're your hosts. Israel and Sunam Tawar, your favorite Latina siblings on the internet. We're committed to empowering you to take control of your money and life.

Speaker 1: 0:57

So if you're ready to get your money right, we're so glad you're here.

Speaker 2: 1:03

Hello and welcome back to another episode of money noticias podcast. If you're new here, we are your hosts and favorite latina siblings on the internet israel and sunim hello, how's it going?

Speaker 1: 1:19

okay? So, like, today's topic is hot and juicy. Okay, it's a lot of chisme today, per usual, because we're going to talk about how we got here in terms of our financial journey. Spill all of our money tea, yes, you will be getting lots of tea regarding our finances. I know the girlies love the tea, so we'll make sure to spill it today. Make sure that you tune in to the end of the show to get all of the chisme. So, to get started, you know we love to have a cute little chisme moment before we dive into the topic today's topic. So, sunem, what has been going on with you?

Speaker 2: 2:00

Yeah, so okay. So if you're new here, we usually spill tea in our solo episodes, um, so here's my tea. So I was in New York City this weekend. I was there for four days and I was there for an event, for like a woman in finance event, and I had so much fun. I was social. So I'm an introvert, so I'm not that social when I'm in Nashville, but I'm social when I'm outside of Nashville, which is weird or maybe that's the sign for something. Anyways, I really like New York City. I was.

Speaker 2: 2:36

I usually go to New York City at least once every year, I think this year I've been there like four to five times and I always have a really fun time because I'm always like meeting new people or going to events. So that is the city that I would like to live in one day, maybe for like a month or six months or a year. But anyways, that is my tea. I am back in Nashville and the weather here is really hot. It was hot, hot in New York City too, but I feel like it's harder here in Nashville. So that's not good. But I love the summer, so it's okay. But that's all my chism. I don't think I have anything else to share? What about you, israel?

Speaker 1: 3:17

Well, first of all, I love seeing the pictures that you posted on Instagram. I'm chismoso If you're new here. I'm'm chismoso if you're new here. I'm definitely chismoso. I used to be a teacher. Students used to call me mr chismoso, so it's always nice to see, you know, get a little sneak peek of what you've been up to in new york. And, yeah, like I think that something to question. Right like you're, you were social. You're more social in california too. So when we lived in california, I don't like.

Speaker 1: 3:43

My point is so for all you california girlies, I love california, so name is just a hater, okay, but before we moved to nashville we lived in california and sunam was. I think you're a little more social there, so anything. So food for thought, food for thought, my updates. I literally like we're recording this. I'm going to be going to chicago today. I know this is gonna go live right on monday, um, so I'll be back in mexico city. This I'm going to be going to chicago today. I know this is gonna go live right on monday, um, so I'll be back in mexico city. Because I'm only going to chicago for a few days for a friend's bachelorette and then I'll be going back again in early august for her actual wedding. Chicago in the summer is a vibe, so I'm so excited to go to chicago and just spend time with my, my boo, and celebrate her and her marriage, and then I really need to sit my ass down, like I really need to sit my ass down, and I always say I'm not going to travel, no se que, and I stay traveling. So it's giving. Sit my ass down, okay, after my last summer trip in early August to Chicago. Hold me accountable, boo, hold me accountable. So some updates.

Speaker 1: 4:50

So, for folks who are new, I moved to Mexico City a couple months ago and, y'all, it has not been all roses and flowers, okay, like you thought, like like I thought, but I always remind myself of what my therapist told me about my core belief, like he figured out. We figured out that one of my core beliefs is that a good life is one without challenges, even though, logically, I know that, like, there's always going to be challenges. That's my core belief, and so when those two don't really are aligned, I feel like it's not. It just feels like it's just challenging and not fun, right, and so I need to reprogram my brain to also focus on the positives and the great things that are happening. So I'm still really enjoying my time in Mexico City.

Speaker 1: 5:32

But, yeah, I have been going through challenges here, like various challenges.

Speaker 1: 5:34

For example, right now this internet is not working in the apartment where I live, and it's just been so challenging to find a provider who will give me good internet, and it's just been like so challenging to find a provider who will give me good internet.

Speaker 1: 5:47

And just more challenges that I'm not going to get into now.

Speaker 1: 5:50

But it's moving abroad has been challenging, even though I'm from, like, moving abroad has been challenging and I remind myself too that, like this is really good challenges for me to encounter now, because when I do make my way to Mexico for more longer term, then I'll have this knowledge and lived experience to draw from when that happens, when I buy property here, because I'm going to buy property here, right, and also I just been experiencing some cultural differences that, like I'm like, okay, I think I've overcome all the cultural differences there is, and then there's more and there there's more.

Speaker 1: 6:27

So it's definitely giving soy de aquí, de allá, because I feel very American in Mexico City or Mexico, in ways that I didn't feel before, because, like before I would come for a month or two, but I would come to visit, and now, like, I'm literally engaging with, like, the financial systems, the housing systems, everything here, and so there's definitely cultural differences, but I'm going to program my brain to focus on the incredible things that are happening here too, which there's a lot of incredible things that are happening here, and I'm really enjoying being in Mexico city. It's a city that I feel that loves me back, even with the challenge.

Speaker 2: 7:00

And the food is really good too.

Speaker 1: 7:02

And the food is really good too, mexican, and the food is really good too. So, and the food is really good too, mexican. Yes, yes, yes. So y'all, if you want more tea, I'm actually thinking about like doing, uh, like it's just another solo episode on like moving abroad or like moving to mexico, like one-on-one and sort of my like behind the scene situation for how I moved abroad and so, and then the financial component, of course. So stay tuned for that episode.

Speaker 1: 7:24

All right, right, so now that we got our little cheese moment in, let's go ahead and dive into today's topic.

Speaker 1: 7:29

So back in the day, like literally when we first started this podcast, we each recorded an episode about each of our financial journeys and we'll hyperlink them in the show notes. But today we wanted to kind of revisit our journeys because we have many new listeners, amazing listeners, but also because we also have new financial updates and goals that we want to share with you all, with the hopes that you feel inspired, that you're able to draw some tangible strategies that you can also implement in your own financial lives. So today's episode is going to be pretty hot. It's getting caliente, right, but before we dive in, I just want to make sure that you are all aware that we do offer one-on-one coaching services, both investing clarity session and also a more long-term coaching service, where we provide you with coaching beyond just investing. So make sure that you take advantage of that, especially if you are committed to getting your money right.

Speaker 1: 8:22

Also, make sure to share this episode with a loved one. Please rate and review the podcast. All of this will help us attract more amazing listeners like you and make this free content more accessible. All right, so, that being said, let's go ahead and dive into our financial journey. So let's get us started.

Speaker 2: 8:38

Okay, so to get started, so both Israel were siblings. We were born into poverty, poverty. So both our parents did not finish elementary school in Mexico. So both are from Mexico. So my dad's from Tijuana and my mom is from Michoacan, but they met in LA and then they got married and then they relocated to Tijuana and my dad he was he's like a blue collar Well, he's retired now but he was a blue collar and my mom was basically, you know, a stay at home mom. She was there all the time.

Speaker 2: 9:13

So we we lived in Tijuana for a couple of years. So we're six in total, so the two oldest of the family, like they, were born in LA and then my parents relocated to Tijuana and then after that, most of them, most of my siblings, were born in Tijuana, except for me. I was born in LA and we kind of talk a little bit about why I was born in LA and Israel was born in Tijuana, because both Israel and I are the youngest siblings. In an episode that we recorded I think it was like the second episode that we recorded, so we'll leave the episode show link if you want to know why. Then we relocated to LA and then, after LA, we relocated to Nashville when I was 14. And Israel was how old were you? 12?

Speaker 2: 10:04

yeah, I was 12 yeah, we came to Nashville, okay, so now take us through our history, right?

Speaker 1: 10:11

well, I'm gonna keep it short and sweet, right, because we talked about this extensively in the first episode, but just a sparks notes version. Like we, with luck it took a lot of luck and hard work and also privilege that, like we, collectively, as a family, have been able to overcome poverty and, like a lot of us, have been able to attain higher education and because of that, we've been able to move up into the middle upper middle classes in or class status in the US and now living in Mexico, I see this as such a huge privilege because, like it's really, really for my observations, it seems like it's really hard to do that in Mexico. I see this as such a huge privilege because, like it's really, really, from my observations, it seems like it's really hard to do that in Mexico. And so, you know, I'm actually really, really grateful that our parents moved us to the US because it helped us go from being low income to middle upper middle class, and that is inaccessible in a lot of countries, and so I'm actually really grateful about that.

Speaker 1: 11:05

But even then, even though we've been able to move up the socioeconomic ladder in the US and globally, we've still been paying the first in tax right. We've been paying the first in tax, and if you don't know what the first in tax is, we'll hyperlink our episode where we unpack the first in tax in the show notes. But even though we've been paying the first in tax, there are six of us, so that does help in kind of like splitting the cost and responsibilities. But I'm not gonna lie, there's still some gendered expectations and responsibilities in which Sunam and our oldest sister have had to, like you know, do more because it's giving, you know, patriarchy and all that. But yes, so luckily we are. You know, we've been able to deepen our financial literacy and take control of our money almost collectively as a family, which has helped us a lot in giving us more options, and it's so amazing to be able to do that together.

Speaker 2: 12:03

Yeah, definitely. So now let's talk a little bit about our financial journeys as individuals. So, like I said, israela and I are both siblings and I remember from a young age I knew that we were poor and I wanted to escape poverty. I always knew that since I was little, I don't even know like my brain just kind of captured that I didn't want to be poor for the rest of my life, and I remember my dad and our parents always saying that education was the key to escaping poverty, and I think for us it really was. But to be honest, I don't know if college is the key now because it's too expensive, but it was like the key for us. And so I went to college thinking that I wanted to be a lawyer, but I'm an introvert and also I don't like to write, and so I was doing pre-law and I was like, yeah, I'm gonna change to a different degree. And I did psychology because I thought that psychology was a good degree to get me to law school. But then I didn't want to be a lawyer and I was like, well, maybe I want to do a PhD in psychology. Looking back, I don't think I would study psychology anymore. I think I would study computer science or something like that, because I really like numbers. But anyways, I was able to graduate because I really like numbers.

Speaker 2: 13:29

But anyways, I was able to graduate and when I graduated I went into debt. I was $42,000 in debt because of my student loans and also, like a car loan that I got, I just got like a brand new car because my family was saying that that's the next thing to do and so I was $42,000 in debt and I also, like, started a business with my older brother. So I became self-employed and our business was about marketing. So we were designing websites for, like small businesses. But then we transitioned to like, managing storages and looking back now, our business actually made more than six figures, but I didn't take six figures home because, you know, it was me and my older brother.

Speaker 2: 14:14

But during this time I was really looking into financial statements because we would meet with the owner of the storages and I would have to give him the income statement and the balance sheet. And because I study psychology, I had no idea what this was Like. I learned thanks to my brother, because he was a business major and he had his MBA, and so I kind of learned. But I kind of felt like I didn't know a lot of financial terms. So I was like I want to go back to school to get my master's in finance.

Speaker 2: 14:45

But also, because this was the beginning of my financial journey, I had realized that I had so much debt and I wanted to become debt free. And I was. It felt like all my money was just going towards paying off debt and it felt really bad. But during this time in my financial journey it was more of like I want more money so that I can spend on this random things from amazoncom, because growing up in poverty, our parents didn't really buy us stuff, so I really wanted to make up for that. And so during this time I was like I need to become debt free so I can have more money to spend on this things.

Speaker 2: 15:22

And so becoming wanting to become debt free really opened my mind to like personal finance and I started reading so much about personal finance. I started reading blogs, I started reading books, because this was like early 20s, like mid 2016, early 2017. And I was like I really want to become debt free, and so that's when I went down the rabbit hole, and so I was like I think getting my master's in finance is a perfect degree because it's going to teach me about personal finance and this financial terms. And so I went and I, you know, got my master's, but I didn't really learn much about personal finance. I did learn financial terms, so I guess that's. That was good. And so something that I'm really proud of that, looking back, I never celebrated was that I was able to become debt free in 2019. And also I graduated with my master's, which I paid off myself. I didn't get loans or anything, and that was such an amazing accomplishment that now, like just looking back, I never really celebrated during that time, but during 20, like late 2018, early 2019, I learned about financial independence.

Speaker 2: 16:38

So if you're new here, you're like what's financial independence? So financial independence basically means that you have invested enough that it's going to generate passive income that you'll be able to use to pay for your annual expenses. That means that you don't have to work anymore once you reach this number. And so we have done multiple episodes about financial independence, so we'll link hyperlink some in the episode show notes if this is something that you want to learn more about. And so, because I was burnt out, because I was working, I was side hustling. I was going to grad school, like financial independence sounded amazing. I was like that means I never have to work again, so let me start investing so I can reach financial independence as soon as possible.

Speaker 2: 17:28

And because I did reach, became debt free in 2019, I had already done the work of looking at my spending, cutting down things that I didn't need anymore so that I can become debt free. That I like was able to not spend that much and had like a spending plan, aka a budget that I just shifted from paying off debt to investing more aggressively. And so in 2019, I started investing very aggressively. I really reduced my expenses to like the bare minimums and I didn't really allow myself to spend that much. I actually like deleted Amazon for my phone because that was a trigger for me back then and I was like, no, I really want to become that much. I actually like deleted Amazon for my phone because that was a trigger for me back then and I was like, no, I really want to become debt free. And then I was like, oh, I really want to become financially independent. But then I graduated in 2019, 2020.

Speaker 2: 18:21

And then the pandemic happened and you know pandemic it was really uncertain. It felt like everything was terrible. And because I feel like it was really uncertain, it felt like everything was terrible and because I feel like I was really burnt out, I experienced really bad anxiety and I have generalized anxiety, which is something that I have talked about in this podcast, but generally like it's under control. But because of everything that I had experienced the pandemic and I also wasn't taking care of myself I was doing too much, I was hustling too much, I really triggered my anxiety and I went through a really bad anxiety episode. I couldn't sleep, I felt anxious. Waking up, I it just felt really bad being in my body and it was such a bad experience.

Speaker 2: 19:10

But I realized that bad experiences really teach you some lessons, and so during this time, I had a mindset shift. I was like I've been hustling so much, I've been investing aggressively so I can become financially independent, but in reality we don't know we're going to be alive tomorrow. So I've been doing all of this and I am not happy right now. So I really need to change my mindset, and so I'm like I need to start living the life that I want now. And what helped was like during that time, I had reached 100K in investments, which I had read about was a big milestone. Like that's when you start seeing compound interest work for your money. And so I was like I have this money.

Speaker 2: 19:56

And I remember going through my anxiety episode and thinking if I could just feel normal, I would give all this money away. And then that's when I realized like, oh, something's wrong, money away. And then that's when I realized like, oh, something's wrong, like I need to change my mindset and like maybe use my money to live life on my own terms. And so during this time, I realized that I wanted a more balanced approach. I actually realized I wanted more flexibility in my life. Something that I had realized a while ago but I was not really paying attention because I was too busy hustling was that I really wanted to travel and I wanted more flexibility. And I remember looking at people's instagrams and being so jealous of them when they were traveling and I was like I'm here, stuck in an office I have to go to, I have to go to school after here and I have to work on Saturdays or I have to go to school on Saturdays. And so during this time when I was like really going through it and like, actually, during this time, I was like slowly coming out of that anxiety phase.

Speaker 2: 21:00

I was like something that I really want is to have a remote job, because I think it's going to give me more flexibility and because I had this financial stability of 100K. And during this time I had also been saving an FB fund, which is basically like a savings account, and I had like six months of expenses there. I was like I am going to try to negotiate a remote position and the worst that can happen is that they're going to say no. And obviously I was so scared but I was like the worst that can happen is going to they're going to say no, but it's okay, because I can just, you know, try to look for a job. And during this time, it's like it was like like late 2021, when there was more remote positions, and so I was able to negotiate and they came back and said yes, and so I feel like I was able to do this because I had that, I had built that financial security, I had built money habits that really helped me feel secure enough to do this.

Speaker 2: 22:01

And then, from there, like I started investing in myself because I realized that DIYing everything can only get you so far, and also like investing in myself really has changed my mind set when it comes to money and my relationship with money and looking at it as like money is just a tool that you can use to live your best life, and before I was looking at it, I was like, oh, I have to accumulate this much money. I can't use my money for myself, and obviously like we don't. If you're like us, if you're first gen, you probably did not grow up with like your parents telling you to invest in yourself. So it can be hard and obviously it was really hard for me and challenging to invest a lot of money into myself, but once I did that that, it became easier and I honestly believe that that has helped me so much. It's giving me a lot of returns, such as the same as investing in the stock market has given me a lot of returns, and so since then I have continued to invest, but I'm not as aggressive with my money like I spend a lot of money traveling.

Speaker 2: 23:06

I like numbers. So I went back and saw how much I used to spend, like in 2019 and travel and I only spent like a thousand two hundred and travel, and now I spend like 10 more than ten thousand dollars. So you can definitely see the difference. But I honestly, like I feel like my life is so much better because I was able to, you know, use my money to live a better life.

Speaker 2: 23:30

And then since now, like I still invest because you know my why my end goal is always to become work optional and I am going to be able to achieve that in my early 40s. So right now, I have about 320k in the stock market and a few episodes ago that we recorded like a solo episode, I said that I was gonna have 300 and now I have 320k, which is crazy. We always talk about the magic of compound interest and you know me, me and Israel give presentations about it, but actually looking at it in your account and seeing it is so crazy and interesting and magical. So that's why I'm so passionate about like telling people to invest in the stock market, because that's the way you're going to become wealthy. So that is my story, really fast. So now, israel, can you share your financial journey?

Speaker 1: 24:29

wow it's. It's wild to like think back on your journey and like all the twists and turns and all the challenges, all the moments of celebration, and just thinking about how you you know you were a different person when you started and now you have not only built wealth, but have also really like changed a lot in terms of your mindset and your values and goals. And that's the beauty of really delving into your personal finance journey, because it's not. You'll quickly realize that it's just not about the money or the numbers or the finance. Finances it's in. It's so interconnected with every other part of your life like it's going to push you to grow, to glean clarity, to get to know yourself more, like it's really going to to help you in so many different ways of your life.

Speaker 1: 25:25

Right, okay, so my journey? Um, I have always been really high achieving academically, and so I've always known that school was going to be my ticket out of poverty. I knew it right and because of that, I became a particularly high achieving, like super high performing. And it wasn't until recently that I learned that like I adopted that persona identity because I really wanted to escape poverty and I wanted to gain respect in this really racist, classist, homophobic world and that's why I became really high, achieving right. And so, because of you know, lots of various various reasons, I was able to earn for rides to Yale and Stanford and even to this day, like that has been such an immense privilege attending those institutions because it has really helped me in different parts of my life. And also I was able to like study abroad and like and live in four different continents, and I was able to like study abroad and like and live in four different continents and I was able to adopt an abundance mindset by going to these very wealthy institutions, right, and so I'm really really incredibly grateful for the immense privilege that I had to attend Yale and Stanford. Take a lot from me to be able to attend those institutions, because it's not easy for a poor first-gen Mexican to you know, gain access to those spaces. But because I did have that privilege, it really fundamentally changed my world and and also my life trajectory. But even then, even though I went to Yale and Stanford, I still came from a first-gen background with no generation of wealth. I learned that really quickly after I graduated with my master's from Stanford when I returned to Nashville Then I bought a house and I had no money in my bank account.

Speaker 1: 27:18

My son-in-law was like, don't buy a house. I was like no, I'm going to do whatever I want to do. I'm going to order the margarita and then sign the paperwork to buy a house. Okay, and I was not financially prepared to buy a house, I can tell you that much.

Speaker 1: 27:33

Literally, like a month after I bought the house, I quit my first full-time job teaching job because the school where I worked was incredibly challenging, not because of the students but because of the school politics, but because of school politics. And I had a whole mortgage under my name and there's a lot of property maintenance issues that I had to pay for. That was not financially prepared. So that was really hard. I my anxiety was out the roof. I decided to quit my teaching job just because I was like that's the only thing I can really control. I can't like sell the house tomorrow. I would. I would have if I could. Right, I would have. But at the same time I still was under the understanding of the only way to build wealth was by having a house. And so maybe not, I wouldn't have done, I just would have. Just, I mean, I kept it for a few years, right. But internally I wanted to sell it immediately, and I think I told that to Sunem multiple times.

Speaker 1: 28:32

But it got even worse when I decided to quit my full-time teaching job and I had a home, mortgage and maintenance expenses. And when you find yourself in a sink or swim situation, as a human we always swim, and so that's what happened. You know, it's like in that moment I realized, yes, I went to yale and stanford, yes, I have a lot of privilege in going to institutions and having debt, but I still don't have any generational wealth. And so, but luckily, I did have generational wealth in the sense that, like, sunam was there to help push me deep in my financial literacy, because that's also generational wealth, y'all. It's not just the money components, also the knowledge and the access that you have to people and spaces. So I decided to deepen my financial literacy.

Speaker 1: 29:12

While I was, you know, delivering pizzas at Domino's, I was also side hustling with working at an immigration law firm and also teaching online English to Korean students, and I was like listening to podcasts and reading books and just like getting my money right. And that's when I was like committed to like doing all of that Right. I was like I'm going to go back to teaching because I just didn't want to teach at that school. I still wanted to teach. Um decided to teach at a different school in Nashville. It's just, nashville was just not the city for me. So then I moved to DC, partly for personal reasons, but also financial reasons, to do geo-arbitrage, which means that I increased my salary because teachers in DC get paid more, even though there's a higher cost of living. I was able to decrease my expenses because I was living with friends who I really love and could have a comfortable lifestyle with them, and so I went at it for four years.

Speaker 1: 30:14

During my time in DC, and also when I was in Nashville too, I saved and invested really aggressively in a way that I deprived myself multiple times, and because of that I was able to reach a six-figure net worth by the age of 26. Right, do I recommend that approach? No, I actually recommend a balanced approach. But do I also recognize the privilege that I now have because I was able to build a strong financial foundation for myself as a first-gen Latino? Yes, I do recognize that and I do enjoy those privileges now. Right, and so that's something that you know, everyone should think about, like there's going to be seasons where we have to hustle because we don't come from generational wealth, but it's only a season, right, it shouldn't be for 20 years, it should be seasons.

Speaker 1: 31:00

And then I also sold my house at the age of 26 and I invested everything into the stock market and after that I was like I'm going to take a sabbatical because I was burnt out from teaching. I was teaching during the pandemic and it got even more challenging during the pandemic, and so I began saving for a year, starting in August of 2021. And then I took I was supposed to take a year long sabbatical. It ended up being nine months. But it changed my life and it changed my perspective. Like before, I used to be just so high achieving, really focused on achieving goals and advancing social justice for my communities. But then in my sabbatical, I learned that I just felt more joyful and more at peace and happy, the happiest when I was just doing me and I didn't have to do work and I didn't have to do all of these different pressures and expectations that I placed on myself for being high achieving. I was really able to divorce my identity from my job and do all this, have these incredible epiphanies, and that just really reinforced my desire to be work optional in the future.

Speaker 1: 32:05

And unfortunately, my sabbatical was cut short because I decided to move back to Nashville, because I was recruited to work for a Latino fintech startup there. While there, I started taking different financial choices just because I had a strong financial foundation already had invested six figures into the stock market and I decided that I wanted to live by myself. Inflation had increased significantly at that time. But I'm like I want to live by myself and it's been the best investment because I see it as an investment in my happiness and my peace of mind. Living by myself, I love it, even though I'm paying way more to live by myself and paying the single tax. I love it and I'm happily paying that. And because I had different expenses, I only invested $10,000 during my time at the fintech startup, and not, you know, multiple. When I was teaching, I was investing way more, way, way more, and so it was a.

Speaker 1: 32:55

It was kind of like a transition for me to not be investing aggressively while I work full time, because now I kind of was focusing more on, like, my happiness and living in the present and my day to day. But then, after being at that startup for a year, I was laid off and my heart wanted to move to Mexico. I would think about Mexico multiple times, multiple times a day, like I would think about Mexico multiple times a day, every single day, right, day, right. And you know, manifestation happens when you listen to your intuition and you also work towards it. And I was able to receive a job offer at a us based tech company, but I have to live in mexico and also get paid in pesos. But I also work fully remote, which which is great, and I'm learning a ton.

Speaker 1: 33:42

But I have this, had this realization by moving to Mexico and also getting paid in pesos and also just working again, that I want to become work optional, like that's still my main goal because I'm in Mexico and I'm working and I'm enjoying being in Mexico, but it's a distraction. Work is a distraction for me, really enjoying Mexico the way I did when I was in my sabbatical, and even though I have way more flexibility and I am remote that's huge privileges I still know I had the privilege of knowing what life feels like without working and I can never not think of that, and so I want still my goals to become work optional to become more crystal clear. But I've also had another important realization that, even though we do use money as a tool to live our best life, money will not make our challenges go away. Okay, if you have a hard time with boundaries with yourself, with others, money is not.

Speaker 1: 34:40

Even if you become work optional, you have $2 million and you're invested in your bank account or an investment account, it's not going to make your anxiety go away. It's not going to make your intrusive thoughts go away. It's not going to improve your unhealthy relationships right, it's the tool to help you improve your life, because it gives you access to resources and time and space to address other challenges in life and it also hopefully disappears like professional challenges right, but it's not going to make your life perfect. And that's another important realization that I've had. And so kind of like grappling with this tension of like, yes, I want to become work optional, but with the understanding that money is not going to make my life challenges in general go away. Maybe some it'll give me more tools and space and time to, you know, be healthier and happier, but I just want folks to really understand that piece. So that is my journey. I know that was a long, long little journey, but if you are interested in learning more about our journeys, we do talk more about our journeys in depth.

Speaker 2: 35:38

Please, uh, listen to the other episodes that we have hyperlinked in the show notes yeah, thank you so much for sharing that was a lot of your life um, well, both our lives. But yeah, at the end of the day, like both you and I, getting our money right like really helped us a lot, and now we get to live a life that we didn't think was possible because of getting our money right. And even though each I said that, like, money is not gonna make our challenges go away, it is going to make them easier, and which is why we're really passionate about, like, having this platform and teaching you how to get your money right so that your challenges become better. All right, so, now that we talked about our financial journeys, like there are some takeaways for you that we want you to keep in mind. And if you are have been listening to our podcast for a while, you probably already heard this and you're like, oh, they're talking about this again, but really, like, these are really good tips that I feel like from our journeys, we have learned that this is something that has really helped us get us to where we are.

Speaker 2: 36:59

So, because you know, money gives you more options. So the first one is like, have a why for wanting to do whatever you want in your financial journey. Like the beginning of my journey, my why was to become debt free, and then it switched to becoming work optional. So you're allowed to change your why. But having a why really helps you keep you motivated and helps you do things that you thought it was impossible. Like I thought I could not stop overspending. But when I got my why to become debt free, like I was able to, to switch from being an overspender to being a saver, and also like, take a moment to think about, like what is your wildest dreams? What do you want to do? Do you want to move somewhere else? Do you want to switch your careers? Like dream and dream big. Because, like money is going to give you those options and then, from there on, like it's going to give you that motivation to make them a reality. And it doesn't mean like your dreams are going to come true like in one year or two, like they can, but it is progress and it's going to take a while to make them a reality, but you'll be able to make them come true the longer you are in this journey.

Speaker 2: 38:14

Okay, so the second thing is to create a spending plan. So that means having a budget. I used to hate budgeting so much. But then I realized that my why was to become debt free, and budgeting just became easier. And then my why is to become work optional, and I always remember that, and it makes budgeting so much easier. And so knowing your numbers is so important, because if you don't know your numbers, how are you going to be able to achieve your goals? So have a spending plan.

Speaker 2: 38:51

Something that we usually tell our clients is to go back and look to your like either one month or three months of your spending and see how much you're spending realistically, because sometimes our budgets don't work because we're creating some random numbers that don't exist. So go back and view that and also, like look at if the spendings make sense for you. Like are they in align with your values? Like, for example, when I was a big spender in Amazon, like I, that didn't really align with my values. Like I don't want to give all this money to Amazon, and so I was able to realize that when I looked at my spending, and so I deleted my app, and since then I do spend on Amazon, but just a little bit compared to how much I used to. So definitely do that, ok.

Speaker 2: 39:42

The next thing is to pay off debt, and I'm not talking about like paying off all your debt. I'm talking about, like high interest debt such as like interests that are like seven, six to 7% or even more. For example, like if you have a debt that is 7%, investing in the stock market can give you 7% after inflation. At that point, like it will be better to pay off that debt. But if you have debt that's like 0% like, for example, I have a credit card that's 0% for 12 months they give me 0%. Like I'm not going to pay that off until 12 months because you know it's basically free. But if it's like one percent, two percent, three percent, like it's okay, you don't have to pay it off. Like you can take your time paying it off and it's better to invest. But if you have high interest debt, like it's important to pay it off because you're making, you're giving money to someone else.

Speaker 2: 40:36

The other thing is like start investing as soon as you can. Even if you have debt, you can still start investing. Don't be like me and wait until you are completely debt free to invest, because investing is all about time in the market. The longer you are investing, the more compound interest will do for your money, and it really will. It's like it's magical, like I'll move, being the results of my investing. Now, it's not going to happen overnight. Sometimes it can, depending on the stock market, but usually it takes a few years for you to see the magic of compound interest. But start investing as soon as you can, and you don't have to invest a lot of money. You can start with $5, $10, whatever you can, as long as you built that habit to invest, because investing is what is going to make you wealthy and it's what's going to allow you to retire, even if you might not want to retire earlier. Maybe you want to continue to work, but you still have to invest, because if you're not investing, you're not even going to be able to retire at 65. So start investing as soon as you can.

Speaker 2: 41:40

Another thing to do is increase your income. Like we were able to invest more because we were increasing our income, and so it's really important to advocate for yourself, ask for more money, because the more money we have, the more we can invest, the more we can pay off debt. So advocate for yourself and increase your income, because sometimes you want to make more money because you cannot budget your way out of poverty sometimes. So increasing your income is going to allow you to make budgeting easier because you have more money to work with. And then work on your relationship with money because, like Israel mentioned, money doesn't solve all your issues, especially like if you have a scarcity money mindset and maybe you reach like two million in the stock market, but you still feel like you're going to lose it all, like what's the point of having two million dollars if you don't feel secure with your money. And so working on your relationship with money while investing, while increasing your income, like in your journey, is so important, because maybe you reach that retirement number and you don't feel secure, you're going to continue to want to work and maybe not be happy. So definitely work on your relationship with money.

Speaker 2: 42:57

And then the last thing is enjoy your journey and also celebrate your journey and celebrate all your milestones that you're able to achieve along the journey, which is something that I didn't do in the beginning, but now I am definitely celebrating them, because that is such an accomplishment, especially if you're a first gen, like we had to.

Speaker 2: 43:16

Our parents had to go through all of this. We had to go through a lot of obstacles to get where we are, where we are now. So it's really important to celebrate our wins, celebrate our milestones and also enjoy our journeys because, like I said, like I don't want to talk about death, but we don't know when we're gonna die, so you want to enjoy your journey, like, yes, invest for the future, but also make sure that you are not sacrificing your present right now. So make sure that you are not sacrificing your present right now. So make sure that you still leave room for yourself to spend on things that make you happy. So those are some of the takeaways that we have learned from our journeys. Isha, do you want to add anything else?

Speaker 1: 43:56

Girl, you always know I got something to say. You should know this by now. I do, I do got something to say. You should know this right now. Is they I do? I do got something to add.

Speaker 1: 44:06

Yes, I think something that we also would love to highlight is that the more you get your money right, the more like levels of freedom you unlock. Right. And take this from someone who really struggles with like living in the present and always like thinking about the future, because you're like, okay, maybe in 10 years, your goal is in 20 years to be, or 10 years, to become debt free, because that's just what's realistic for you and you feel like that is just like a really daunting goal. But if you think about like every dollar that you pay off your debt, the more freedom you're going to have, right, so you don't necessarily have to wait to 10 years to feel that freedom. Like every month, you'll feel more free, right, and that's really helpful in living in the present, right, because you know that, like in the present, you are doing this and you feel more free. And in 10 years, if we have the privilege or luck to get there in 10 years because you know life is not promised to anyone, then we'll be even in a different space in terms of our freedom, and so just remembering that, like the more you get your money right, the more you unlock the different levels of freedom and the more you're able to also live in the present, hopefully.

Speaker 1: 45:23

And the last thing that I want to add that I shared in the beginning of this episode is you don't have to do this alone.

Speaker 1: 45:30

Like this is really hard.

Speaker 1: 45:32

If you're wondering, like how do I even create a spending plan, how do I even go about tackling my debt, how do I even go about investing, like that's what you have money coaches and experts like us who have similar lived experiences you to be able to provide you with that tailored support, because we understand you, we understand what you're going through and we want to be able to help you, you know, meet your financial goals and unlock those levels of freedom. Right, we really, really want that for you and, like I said, like investing in yourself is the best investment. Investing in yourself is the best investment, and so you getting money coaches is you investing in yourself and it's going to pay off in dividends, and we've seen that with our clients. We've been doing this work for a few years now. So you know, please invest in yourself and get that money right, and we hope that our journeys serve as a source of inspiration for you all and that you all feel empowered, more empowered to be able to live life on your own terms, because it's what we want for every single one of you.

Speaker 1: 46:34

Anything you want to add, s&m.

Speaker 2: 46:38

Well, the only thing that I wanted to add is that I understand like investing in yourself is a journey. So if you don't feel like you're there yet, that's why we have this platform, which is completely free, so you can binge listen to all our episodes, because we interview amazing people who have also gone through the journey, and I remember when I was starting my journey, I used to love to listen to people's journey because it was a way to motivate me to keep on going. So you know, we have our free podcast. We have free resources to follow us on instagram, because we share some chisme behind the scenes there too. So, yeah, that's it okay, great, great ideas.

Speaker 1: 47:20

You always have great ideas, not better than mine sometimes, but but yeah, they're still great regardless. If you could tell who's the mean girl, it's definitely so now. Anyway, all right, y'all. That is all for today. Thank you so much for spending this time with us and, as always, remember to live, rest and secure the bag if you are enjoying this podcast, please share with a friend, family member or loved one please and thank you.